Category Archives: Psychology

Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 1)

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Media Effects, Psychology, Social Psychology

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There’s been a drive in the first part of this century to bring information communications technology (ICT) to parts of the world that have not previously enjoyed it. In 2007, and in the years since, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), funded at various times by companies such as AMD, Google, Intel, and News Corporation, has provided computers for children in various countries to enhance their educational experience (One Laptop per Child, n.d.; Martins, 2007).

In June, Google announced it would bring wireless connectivity to Africa by blimp. This left some Africans criticizing the move as addressing the wrong problem—it’s the cost of equipment that prevents access, not the ability to connect (Stibbe, 2013; Talbot, 2013).

In August, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook, published a white paper entitled Is Connectivity a Human Right and shortly afterwards established a nonprofit organization called Interent.org. This consortium is made up of major corporations that include Nokia, Samsung, and Ericsson (handset makers), Opera (a browser manufacturer), and both Qualcomm and MediaTek which are both infrastructure manufacturers (Levy, 2013; Zuckerberg, 2013). Continue reading →

A Defense Against the Negative Effects of Technology

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in #MediaPsych, Psychology

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by Lisa Peyton

I488_skeleton-computer-300x204-628x427n the past, I have not been a HUGE fan of social media. I don’t spend hours a day on Facebook or any social media platform and I have often pondered how this new media will impact our psyches. My recent media psychology work has forced me to take another look at how I view digital media and how it may be effecting us. Nancy Baym’s book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, outlines a NEW way to approach digital media. Her dissection of how media is perceived by the public alerted me to my own biases and helped to hone my critical eye when reading articles on the subject. Continue reading →

Miley Mania and Media Literacy

27 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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In response to the Miley Cyrus spectacle during MTV’s Video Music Awards and the mass social commentary that has ensued, The Onion, well known for its satire, published a pretty educational article supposedly penned by Meredith Artley, Managing Editor Of CNN.com focusing on the reason why this particular “news” was given a place of prominence on CNN’s website that outweighed the apparent chemical attacks on civilians in Syria. Continue reading →

Killing with Words – From One Second to the Next

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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German film director Werner Herzog’s recently released a short film titled From One Second to the Next with the support of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon that has racked up almost 2 million views on YouTube since its release August 8 (Miller, 2013). Using the personal narratives of both the victims and the perpetrators, Herzog documents the price of texting and driving on different families. Continue reading →

Data, Technology and the Psychology of Social Behaviors: How Obama ‘socialized’ politics

12 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in Politics, Psychology, Social Psychology

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Media Psychology: Data, Technology and the Psychology of Social Behaviors: How Obama ‘socialized’ politicsWHY was Obama’s campaign SO effective? I recently ran across two quotes that answer that question and have much broader implications for the future of digital media. The first was from Pamela Rutledge, in her article ‘How Obama Won the Social Media Battle in the 2012 Presidential campaign’. She summed it up this way, “An effective social media campaign is based on the psychology of social behaviors NOT the current technology” (Rutledge, p. 2013). Mybo.com was able to take advantage of new technologies surrounding online social networks in order to enable Obama supporters to connect and build social relationships. The second quote was from the Handbook of mobile communication studies, chapter 17 by Howard Rheingold. He eloquently puts it this way:

Communication technologies and literacies possess a power that has, on many occasions, proven mightier than physical weaponry — the potential to amplify, leverage, transform, and shift political power by enabling people to persuade and inform the thoughts and beliefs of others.

Obama recruited a variety of tools that allowed his supporters to easily find and inform undecided voters. Continue reading →

Media Psychology Group Blog and Open Invitation

02 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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Media Psychology – Informing, Educating and Influencing has become a group blog so that we can offer a wider variety of insight into this fascinating topic from multiple authors. That being said, we are extending an open invitation to authors from all nations that may wish to collaborate and write about this topic, but may not want all the added pressures of establishing and running a blog alone. If you’re interested please drop us a comment/note so that we can connect. We are all excited about the possibilities this change can bring.

Visuals Versus Text, Part Two

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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Your attention is what every advertiser wants, not necessarily because they want to change your mind, but simply because they want to reinforce opinions you may already hold. Repetitive attention to their product breeds familiarity and can steer individual choices at a later time. The use of imagery builds this cognitive phenomena quickly. Continue reading →

“Churnalism” Detector

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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An interesting web capability called Churnalism was recently introduced in the United States, brought to us by the British Media Standards Trust.  In short, just as plagiarism software operates, the Churnalism site will compare journalism with known press releases and attempt to identify the source of the information. This capability will also allow the user to determine if quotes have been taken out of context. It should be a great way to detect churn and spin while increasing media literacy.

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Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives and the “Digital Lord of the Flies” Effect

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Psychology

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As an addendum to my last post, Scot Terban, author of the blog Krypt3ia which often discusses the intersection of information security and media psychology, recently wrote about the topic of digital immigrants and digital natives. But Scot goes a bit further to remark about digital natives, their online actvities and what he has termed the Lord of the Flies effect. Continue reading →

Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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As both digital immigrants and digital natives, we are witnessing an evolution in technology brought about at a much faster rate during our lifetimes due to changes in technologies which build upon on one another.  This is something we typically didn’t see much of in the past because early adoption of new technologies happened in scientific communities, in the military and among the wealthy. Now, capitalism drives early adoption to the lowest level – the consumer – in order to increase profit, which in turn increases the demand for innovation, and so on. iPads, for example, seem to come out at least once a year these days, if not more often. Continue reading →